• Gideon Schripsema is a three-year-old kid suffering from leukemia. It affects a body's white blood cells and immune system. His prognosis may be good, but it's the type of thing with which no three-year-old should have to deal. The guys on the Western Michigan University hockey team know this. That's why they've taken Gideon "under our wing."

"It's been way double cool," Gideon said with an ear-to-ear smile. [Kalamazoo Gazette]

• A $10 million civil trial against former pro-ballplayer Brian Giles started last week. It was filed by his former fiancée Cheri Olvera. She claims he was the abusive type who caused her to miscarry while pregnant. Allow Giles to retort via countersuit: She abused him. [10News]

• From the people who brought you Gnomeo & Juliet comes the story of a 42-year-old Bengals cheerleader. Laura Vikmanis is the oldest of her kind and all the younger, fresher girls never gave her a chance! She's the mother of two girls whose husband picked up and left like a coward, forcing her to face the world on her own! These facts will likely factor into marketing, promotions and the studio's pitch to Sandra Bullock. [Hollywood Reporter]

• In today's lockout-profitability desperation news, Baltimore Ravens safety Tom Zbikowski fought a cagefighter in an Atlantic City boxing ring last night. He won by unanimous decision to raise his professional record to 3-0. He bloodied the other guy's nose. [Baltimore Sun]

• Here's video of orcas beating fishermen to the bluefish tuna off the North Carolina coast. Michael Jackson handles the soundtracking. [Epic Blitz]

• Pitcher Carlos Silva got into a dust-up with Aramis Ramirez in the Cubs Spring Traning dugout a few weeks back. The Cubs offered Carlos Silva the opportunity to attend work at their Triple-A squad in Iowa Friday, since there was no roster spot for him in the bigs. So, Carlos Silva ripped pitching coach Mark Riggins.

"I'm like, if you have to say something, be straight," Silva said. "He has to learn he's in the big leagues now. There are no kids around here. ... The way he laid it out, it was like, I don't know what he was trying to do.

"He was like 'Man, you've been throwing the ball good, you can pitch, all of that, blah, blah, blah. If you go out there to Triple-A and throw some games to continue building, to continue getting better. …'I was like, 'I don't need to go there. I'm ready to go. I feel good and I'm ready to pitch.' Then he told me there was not going to be a spot in the rotation or in the bullpen either. He should have started with that first, and then say you're strong (throwing) in the bullpen." [Chicago Tribune]